Tag: fishing

Twitchy leg syndrome

Andy Young2 Comments

God, my legs won’t stop being twitchy tonight. Usually, I take magnesium so it doesn’t happen. When I was going through the meds yesterday, I forgot to put some in. I figured I could do with a break. It’s only been two days, haha. Just taken two now, and I’ll put the magnesium bottle next to the pre-made meds.

I’m so dizzy; it’s ridiculous. I can’t even see straight. I tried sleeping it off, but the power nap didn’t shift it. Some exciting news for me. Bestie has said he will come along for a fishing holiday in a few months. Wood cabin by the river or feeder lake, and he’ll cook what I catch. Hopefully, sometime early summer, we can hit the water and see what we can find. He has also offered his excellent cooking skills once I’m set up to show me a few easy singleton meals. Looking forward to that.

And so…

It was R’s 13th birthday on Saturday. she bought this amazing ring from Pandora with her birthday money, which was great. Ugh, the dizziness hits. Today, I was at D’s house at 7 am to wait in for a parcel for her. Played with the dogs, which equates to me lying on the floor, going mental, and a stampede. Wouldn’t have it any other way. Headed back to the hotel after things were delivered and flirted with music and the news. Today is also work (volunteer) day, so I was instructing J on how to set up a web server with the task of creating a PHP file which used a MySQL back end. I’ve not heard from him since.

Need to get hold of Day as it’s been a couple of days, but we’ve done the daily check-in for three weeks.

The twitchy leg syndrome is starting to wear off, which is awesome as I hate that feeling.

Hope you’re all having fantastic days.

yrestless leg syndrome oung fit ethnic sportsman exercising on street in city
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Short story: About Me

Andy YoungLeave a comment

The sun was shining brightly as you cast your line into the water. You had been fishing for hours, but you hadn’t caught anything yet. You were starting to get a little discouraged.

But then, you felt a tug on your line. You reeled it in quickly, and you saw that you had caught a fish! It was a small fish, but it was a fish nonetheless. You were so excited!

You took the fish off the hook and put it in your keep net. Then, you cast your line back into the water. You waited a few minutes, and then you felt another tug on your line. This time, you reeled in a much bigger fish!

You were so happy! You had caught two fish in a row. You put the big fish in your keep net, and you cast your line back into the water.

Crappy poem #3

Andy YoungLeave a comment

The sun is shining, the birds are singing,
We’re fishing on the lake with our friends.
There’s no stress, no worries, no cares,
Just the sound of the water and the wind in our hair.

We’re laughing and talking, enjoying the day,
Not a care in the world, just living in the moment.
The fish are biting, the sun is warm,
This is the life, I’m not going to complain.

But then the clouds start to gather,
The wind starts to pick up, And the sky turns dark.

“Don’t worry,” I say to my friends,
“We can make these clouds go away.”

And so we sing and we dance,
And we laugh and we shout,
And the clouds start to disappear.

The sun comes out again,
And the birds start to sing,
And we’re back to enjoying our day.

This is what friendship is all about,
Making the bad times good,
And the good times even better.

So thank you, my friends,
For making this day so special.
I’ll never forget it.

Black dog is chasing me down

Andy Young3 Comments

It’s hard. You know it’s hard but I’m not trying to undermine your thoughts. It should be simple and in the minds of most people who have never had an addiction, it is a simple thing. I’m craving vast amounts of alcohol again. I find myself on different websites adding things to the basket but never actually going through with it. Just one last drink I tell myself, pure and utter lies, if I let myself have one then I will want three after that. I guess I just needed a moan. I stopped myself so I do have control over it. Smoking for over 30 years and somehow have switched 100% over to vaping. The addiction doesn’t come close to how hard it was to do that.

I know it’s not a great switch from cig to pipe but it was and is the start of starting a new chapter, Where I am well enough to take the kids out, that the panic attacks will down. Wel. I keep telling myself that, eventually, there will be a day with no reliance on anything. I’ll make a list and do a poll on there to see which direction to which to try first,

A very young me, my Uncle Henk, Oma, and Oma (dutch grandparents) before a fishing session in the lape and canal behind Henks; house. This photo brings back memories especially now that they are both long dead. We would have genuine calls saying hello, hope you are well, and things, It was always brief as Oma doesn’t know any English.

Anyways be awesome to each other.

Fishing

Andy YoungLeave a comment

One of my biggest hobbies, when I get the chance, is fishing. Someone thing nice about sitting by a lake or river waiting for that next tight line and seeing what you’ve hooked. I wanted to talk about it because I think it’s important for me to remember that I like doing things. Like I am allowed to have something that I enjoy and as an escape from the day-to-day.

It all started back when I was 6-7 with Opa over in Holland fishing one of the rivers/canals in his back garden. A bamboo cane, with a line, barbless hook, and some wet bread. It worked wonders on catching them. I always release my catches and always use barbless hooks. Not only does it stop the jaw of the fish from being ripped out but makes for a challenge as they could slip off the hook. The wet bread bait is genius as you don’t need to drive around looking for maggots or casters. He showed me the basics and whenever I went over, I would take my bamboo rod and fish with him or my Uncle Henk.

I used to heavily fish in the lakes near the farm. £3 permit for the day with a take-home two and release the rest. On these lakes, it was strictly rainbow trout. So sometimes I would take one back to sell to one of the workers on the farm for £3 to pay the fishing fee for the day. Some days I would catch loads, others not so much. It was always very quiet, it being in a remote location. The weather would often be awful and buckets of rain would fall. I still loved it. I invested my wages from the farm on a rod and reel. Training myself from books and practicing knots.

One time Opa came over from Holland to spend time with us. We went down to the lakes where I fish and spent a few hours. He insisted I use the bamboo rod. Just as we were leaving I said “Just one last go” and no sooner did I put the line in, than a rainbow trout got the bait and I landed him. It was an amazing end to the day. Opa took it home, filleted it and we had it for dinner.

The dinner was horrible but still was amazing to see a man prepare food that fresh, deboned, and everything else you do with a fish.

Even through university, I would fish with a few of my housemates. I had a telescopic rod so it would save space in my room. Whenever we could we would go down to the river, which isn’t far from where I live now. Always catching small different kinds of fish but it was more practice for when we went to the lakes near here, those lakes, amazing places. I caught my first carp there.

Nowadays I play online. I did a previous post about the game Russian Fishing, which albeit it isn’t quite the same but is advanced enough for me to enjoy it. So every few days I’ll get some time in. Whenever we go camping we tend to choose somewhere with a small lake or river nearby and I’ll teach B, R, and S the ropes. D even gets involved!

QOTD

Andy Young3 Comments
Daily writing prompt
Have you ever been camping?
View all responses

I’ve answered and deleted it about five times. I have, what you will call, a love-and hate-relationship of camping. The posh snobbery that I was brought on taught me to turn my nose up at camping. My parents never took me camping, instead favoring static homes and hotel resorts. So naturally when confronted with “Let’s go camping” it instantly fills me full of mixed emotions.

D was the first person I have ever gone camping with. She showed me that it can actually be fun. She has been SO accommodating. I hated putting up the tent so she buys an inflatable one. There are a few other things that took I really had hang-ups about. Having an electrical hook-up is amazing though. We have all the kit living in the attic. Kettle, hob, toaster, and go knows what else. It made me appreciate the warmth. Last year it was really warm but the nights were freezing. Especially when your bed has sprung a leak and I just slept on the floor. Which isn’t as bad as it sounds as I prefer cold and hard mattresses.

I do still dread it though. I’m not sure which part I hate the most. The filling of the car, the setting up and taking it down? I used to have an issue where I felt exposed to everyone but discovered with the new tent I can seal it up tight and no one can see inside. We had a couple of great holidays last year. One down south and one near us in Cheshire where my daughter R came along. That was a truly awesome holiday. It involved fishing. Anything fishing-related makes things better. Plus I got to teach her how to do it before she lost interest when the fish weren’t biting.

There was one horrific memory from last year.

Last camping trip of the season. Kids are playing in the pool. Me and D had gotten out the pool and were drying next to the pool. B swims up to say hello. Suzi pushes him from behind. Crunch. I’ll never forget that sound. The sound of teeth smashing against concrete. We ran over to him expecting all his teeth to be smashed. His front tooth was. That was traumatic. Fortunately, the dentist reassured us over the phone that it can be fixed. D was on the phone to 111 NHS advice. So we kept an eye on him to make sure nothing else got messed up. R was with us and spent the afternoon looking after him and keeping him busy.

Crunch.

Damn.

So I like camping and I hate camping. I don’t think we will be able to go camping again this year due to B and his issues with misophonia and also my snoring. Unless I sleep in the car, he might not hear me then. But the whole trip will be filled with stress. Can we go here? will it be busy? will he hear others eating? Will I feel safe? a whole load of things. Well. If we camp near home as a test run. Like the lakes, about an hour away from here.

Guilty Pleasure

Andy Young1 Comment

Guilty pleasures. I have quite a few. Mostly bordering on the thin line between normal and totally messed up. This is a lesser one.

Russian Fishing, on steam, is one of my favorite games to play at the moment. There is something quite sad about being sat at your computer fishing. Staring at a float and reeling in a spinner waiting for the fish to bite. And these fish are fussy as hell. You need to use the correct baits, hooks, rigs, and rods to catch them.

I stumbled across this game when I was on the hunt for something like the pro fishing games and something a bit friendlier. I love this game because it’s free, the algorithms in place for the fish are amazing, and I can play it casually for a quick 30 min fix. Granted it can take that long to catch one fish but it uses quite a vast amount of knowledge from fishing to making it more accurate.

After all, pulling fish every two seconds with nothing but a hook would be boring after a while. But with this game? I can use my knowledge of fishing, apply it, and see it work.

Madness.

So yes, one of my guilty pleasures it staring at my screen, fingers ready to jump into action when the float sinks.

Hook. Line and Sinker.

Camping

Andy YoungLeave a comment

We escaped the house and fled to Sherwood Forrest, where the legend of Robin Hood resides. When we got there (eventually after a 2 hour traffic jam) we pitched in the rain whilst the kids stayed in the car playing on phones.

We got soaked. Everything but we managed to get everything setup and changed into dry clothes and settled in with sausages and chips for dinner (we have a little oven). The camp site was also a fishery with 4 lakes and a canal. I brought all my fishing bits with me and taught the kids how to fish.

They loved it and what was even more precious? they both managed to catch a few fish over the weekend. D loved it as well, I had to wrestle one of the rods off her so the kids could have a go. I bought the kids a couple of poles but they found casting more fun so put two reels on.

It was so nice. Just relaxing by the canal. Catching the odd fish but that didnt matter. It was being outside, it was being with my family and an escape from the doom and gloom of the past few weeks.

We went out for a posh meal and Nina the dog was allowed in as well. Of course we had to go to the see the legend that is the forrest. The trees were beautiful and you could really feel the history surrounding you. Seeing the villagers who used to travel through there and where the king would hunt. It used to be over 100,000 acres of land reserved for the king as hunting grounds (this is like 300 years ago) and anyone found plundering food or wood would be punished. Its only about 1,000 acres now but still. You can feel it.

We got home late on yesterday and I’ve so far spent the day putting all the camping stuff back into the attic ready & waiting for the next trip. Hopefully we’ll be going up to Edinburgh to see the family, and some friends at the end of the month.

The new medication seems to be working, well its not new they just upped to the max dose which plays havoc in the morning when I take it for the first ten minutes but after that I feel better on them.

Escaped!

Andy YoungLeave a comment

The meeting with the consultant went really well. They didn’t section me so I’m so thankful for that as I was so scared of missing B’s communion. They are altering the meds slightly and giving me a new care plan. Fingers crossed that will help get me out of this funk or at least let me manage it better.

So B’s communion was yesterday, also it was the hottest day of the year so the garden party was an amazing choice. It all went really well and had a great time. B’s sister, R, came as well and stayed over. It was amazing seeing all the kids together playing, giggling and generally being kids. There was a mountain of food and we even got to fire up the fire pit which I love doing.

B got the new oculus 2 so him and his sister were on it non stop. Amazing that VR tech has come so far and is starting to be affordable. It was a peaceful day as it was too hot to even walk the dog. R stayed till 2pm when her mum got her. It was relaxing and funny watching them play a vr climbing game. Can’t wait till Monday so I can finally have a proper go of it.

Next weekend we are going camping near a fishery which I’m really excited about. I’ll finally get to show the kids how to fish. Its been a year or so since I’ve been so yeah the kids are excited too. It’s near Sherwood forest, land of the legendry Robin Hood so plenty to see and do. Not that I’m planning on robbing rich people when I’m there to give to the needy but it’s always a possibility 😉

Doggo had a couple of siesures in her sleep last night. That was sad, think she must of been over stimulated with the party. She’s been ok today; just a bit quiet and wanting to be alone. Waiting to hear back from the vets.

D has got training tomorrow so it’ll be a daddy son day (S is at her dads) so will think of something fun to do. Hopefully it won’t be too hot so I can go to the park and drag Nina along as well.

I’ll see if I can stay awake for a random QOTD as I stupidly had an energy drink with a late left over party food dinner.

Hope you are all having a great weekend. Things are on the up since Thursday which is really great.